oceans

Nathalie Rey (pictured above briefing journalists) is an Amsterdam-based Oceans Policy Analyst who led Greenpeace's delegation in Nagoya for the CBD. She is the proud mother of two daughters, an avid coffee drinker and a surprised fan of Japanese food.

After two weeks of negotiations, this Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has concluded and not without some last-minute drama. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the contentious issues were left to the last day. Delegates, media and observers were told that the Friday afternoon plenary discussion was to begin at 3pm. That meant that the 197 nations gathered here would have to agree a new Protocol, decide the future of protected areas on land and at sea and sign off on a new Strategic Plan for the CBD all in less than three hours.

For all of you out there who haven't sat through these talks for the past two weeks, I assure you that this seemed like an impossible feat when they announced it on Thursday.

Richard Page is an oceans campaigner with Greenpeace International, focusing on marine reserves and polar ecosystems. He currently has the pleasure of attending the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Japan. 

So today is my last day in Nagoya doing my bit to try and make sure that the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) gathers momentum and that governments create a global network of marine reserves.  It is good to be in Japan again - the people of Nagoya seem especially friendly and helpful.

Two years ago, I was lucky enough to visit the Tokyo fish market at Tsukiji with Callum Roberts, the scientist with whom we worked to design the Greenpeace proposal for a global network of marine reserves and Daniel Pauly, who has done much to raise awareness of the dire consequences of overfishing.

Seni Nabou is a political advisor at our Australia-Pacific office, based in Fiji. She is currently part of the Greenpeace delegation at the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya, Japan.

Several weeks after BP announced that the leaking well was firmly capped, the Arctic Sunrise is still in the Gulf assessing the damage caused to marine life and habitats. Oceans campaigner John Hocevar is part of the investigation team and his latest blog is below. More blogs, photos and videos from the Arctic Sunrise's expedition can be found on our US website.

A couple days ago, we advanced the cause of science and conservation by throwing someone else's hundred thousand dollar piece of equipment over the side of the ship.  It sank to the bottom.

Fortunately, this was all part of the plan. The scientists we are working with, Steve Ross and Mike Rhode from University of North Carolina Wilmington and Sandra Brooke from the Marine Conservation Biology Institute and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, plan to come back next year to retrieve the equipment, called a benthic lander, and use it to learn how deep sea corals are surviving in a rapidly changing and heavily impacted environment.

Two whole years in the making, Princes' new 'sustainable seafood statement' was supposed to address many issues. Specifically it was supposed to be explaining just what the company intended to do to drag itself from the bottom of our tinned tuna league table by explaining the measures they were implementing to ensure they were sourcing their tinned tuna responsibly.

By every measurable factor, biodiversity is up the creek with no sign of getting a paddle any time soon. International attempts to reverse the downward trend of species numbers through the Convention on Biological Diversity have failed, and the goals set by the CBD for this year have been missed.